Exit133 is about Tacoma

Farewell Heidelberg Tower

Friday afternoon the Heidelberg Tower finally came down, bringing to an end more than 60 years as an iconic part of Tacoma’s skyline. The tower fell with little fanfare as a part of the demolition of the Heidelberg building, which had been labeled dangerous and okayed for demolition by Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Committee earlier this year.

It’s sad to yet again lose a piece of Tacoma’s historic skyline.

The developers who brought the tower down will be constructing a Holiday Inn Express on the property adjacent to the Heidelberg building. The construction of a new hotel in Tacoma will mean more rooms available to visitors and potential users of the convention center, which currently has a capacity that far exceeds the number of rooms available in town. More hotel rooms available will mean the potential for more and larger conferences. We can’t help wishing, however, that there was a way for the new hotel to honor the history it replaces.

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Comments

Sarah

I remember hearing that the public/committee had asked that the tower be incorporated into the design of the new hotel and the hotel said it did not fit into their design. So maybe we should not jump all over preservationists, they asked that it be used and the developer said no.